Jermaine Jenas and Micah Richards both agreed that Nottingham Forest lacked the attributes that helped them to victory over Liverpool as the made "basic errors" in the weekend's heavy defeat to Arsenal.
Their critique echoed comments made by Steve Cooper himself after the Gunners won 5-0 at the Emirates on Sunday. He told BBC Radio Five Live: "Our whole competitive approach to the second half was just a million miles off where it needs to be, not just at Premier League level but at any level of football.
"I can't remember winning any duels or any tackles. We were not running enough - and that’s the bare minimum for the situation we’re in - hence why the game was completely taken away from us in the first seven or eight minutes of second half. We were miles off and that’s an attitude thing. That cannot happen again."
READ MORE: Michail Antonio sends key Nottingham Forest instruction to Steve Cooper
TALKING POINTS: Cooper point shows importance of picking the bones out of bruising Forest defeat
BBC pundit Jenas felt that the Reds didn't put in a team performance at the weekend, in stark contrast to the previous weekend's game, and listed out where he thought the team were lacking against Arsenal.
"He's always spot on with his assessment, is Steve Cooper," the former Forest midfielder said on Match of the Day. "When you look at their performance last week against Liverpool, everything they did - the desire, the workrate, the organisation - just wasn't there today.
When asked if he felt Forest were struggling to settle after bringing in so many new faces in the summer, Jenas replied: "Yes, but there's also an element that Steve Cooper touched on.
"It's just work rate, it's about working hard for one another, it's communicating with each other, it's staying solid as a group of players. They were a group of individuals today."
Micah Richards concurred, saying: "It's just basics, isn't it? Talking about whether to drop off or not, that's what you learn as a defender.
"When you're up against Arsenal, if someone's got time on the ball you just drop. You can have as many players as you want, and we can talk about cohesion, of course, but they're just basic errors."
What do you think? Drop us a comment!
READ NEXT:
- Jermaine Jenas slams 'recurring' Nottingham Forest error during Arsenal drubbing
- Nottingham Forest player ratings vs Arsenal
- Cooper makes honest Forest admission after 'step backwards' in Arsenal thumping
- Defender explains £13m transfer decision after Nottingham Forest 'enquiry'
- Nottingham Forest tipped to 'reignite' interest in £43m star in January window
Get the latest Nottingham Forest news straight to your inbox by subscribing to our free newsletter!
